Mythos
by Late For The Sky
Summary: Set Mid-Season 3. Summary: Team Mythos was founded four years ago. Comprised of top-level mathematicians, cryptographers, linguists, and mechanical engineers, its members have been on standby until a murder in LA hits close to home. Slight AU. Complete.
1. Some Assembly Required

**A/N (1):** _Takes place mid season 3-ish_.

The ringing of Charlie's house phone drew his brother Don's attention away from the hockey game he was watching, making him look around to see if either his dad or Charlie was going to answer it. Unfortunately, Charlie was working on something in the garage and Alan was out with some of his buddies doing something for one of his pet projects, so it was left to Don to silence the insistent ringing. Sighing, Don arose from his recliner and walked over to where the hand-held travelling phone lay and picked it up.

'Eppes residence.'

A woman's voice, flavoured with an Eastern European accent, answered him. 'Hello. May I speak to Professor Charles Eppes, please?' Don blinked at the formality of her speech, a slight grin twitching a corner of his mouth.

'Can I ask who's calling?'

'I'm sorry; I forgot to introduce myself. I am Doctor Sabina Krylová, an associate of Professor Eppes. We met at a conference a few years ago in Las Vegas. May I please speak with him now?' the woman asked, a slight tinge of annoyance colouring her voice. 'It _is_ rather vital.'

'Hang on.' Don made his way to the garage, travelling phone held in his left hand as his right pushed the connecting door open. Charlie was busy at work, equations and graphs stretching across several blackboards. 'Charlie. Hey, Charlie. Phone for you.' Don said, catching his brother's attention. Charlie turned around; his clothes were liberally dusted with chalk. He reached out for the phone, his gaze fixing on Don.

'Thanks. Who is it?' he asked, brushing himself off with one hand as Don gave him the phone.

'I don't know. She said she knew you from some conference in Vegas. When did you ever go there?' Don asked, but Charlie waved him off as he put the phone to his ear.

'Hello?' A rather pleased expression crossed his face, but it soon turned into a much more serious one as he listened to what Krylová had to say. 'Slow down, Sabina; I can't understand you.' Charlie said finally, shooing Don away with his free hand. Don took the hint and left, returning to his hockey game in time to see his team score a goal. Back in the garage, Charlie sighed and rubbed at his left temple as Sabina kept talking; the woman wasn't speaking English, however, but Czech, and Charlie was having a hard time keeping up with her, since his skills with said language were a little rusty.

'_Chief, it's serious. Commander Mercury is calling everyone back on duty, especially Mythos Team. We're supposed to be meeting at a hotel downtown at 2040. Will you be able to make it?' _Sabina asked her voice grim.

'I should be able to.' Charlie replied. 'Are the others meeting us there?'

'_Yes, sir. Chiron is coming from Santa Rosa and Phoenix's coming from San Francisco. You're still here in LA, right?'_

'Yes, I am.' Charlie glanced down at his watch, which read 7:30. 'I need to let you go. I've got to pack. See you there.'

'_Goodbye, Chief. Stay safe, and I'll see you there. Sphinx out.'_

'See you, Sab'.' Charlie turned off the phone, sighing heavily. Damn. He thought he'd left all of this behind four years ago. Running a heavy hand through his hair, Charlie left the garage and went into the main part of the house. Don was on the couch, watching the tail end of a hockey game.

'What was that all about?' Don asked, looking up from the game.

'A reminder about an extensive mathematics conference in Oregon. I'll be gone for a few weeks, and I'm going to flying out tonight at around eight.'

'So soon? You getting an award or something?' Don looked interested, ignoring the game going on behind him.

'No, it just sort of slipped my mind. It's not a big conference, but there's not really good cell reception there, so I may not be able to be reached. It's inconvenient, I know,' Charlie said, shrugging at Don's exasperated look. 'But I really have to get going, so if you could tell Dad...?' With this he turned and disappeared up the staircase. Don could hear him moving around in his bedroom, presumably packing his clothes and other necessities. Charlie came down ten minutes later, a black duffel bag slung over one shoulder and his laptop satchel over the other.

'It's a good thing it's summer break.' Don commented. 'How are you getting to the airport?'

'I've got a ride, don't worry.' He checked through the window at the street. 'And here it is.' A black sedan had pulled up outside the house, flashing its lights once to get Charlie's attention. 'See you.'

'Bye. Call us before you get out of range.' Don said, watching Charlie open the door and leave.

'Will do.' Charlie waved and left, shutting the door behind him. Don watched him through the window as his brother got into the car and was driven away. Wishing him the best of luck, Don turned back to the TV, not knowing whether or not he'd be seeing Charlie for quite some time.

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After passing through downtown LA, the sedan carrying Professor Charlie Eppes pulled to a halt on the asphalt ten feet away from the hotel. Charlie got out of the car, his travelling bags slung once more over his shoulders. Sabina waited for him at the base of the stairs leading up to the hotel's door. She wore a long, flowing skirt, a black blouse, sensible heels, and a grim smile that lightened momentarily when Charlie approached.

'_Hey, Cheif. I see you made it after all._' She said, extending a hand. '_Good thing, too. Everyone's already inside.'_

Charlie nodded, taking her hand. '_Sphinx, it's good to see you again._' He said, the Czech coming awkwardly off his tongue but getting smoother as he continued to speak. '_Any idea of what we're dealing with?_'

'_Just that out of all of the Reserve Teams in California, we're the only one being called in. The Commander will debrief us once he gets here._' Sabina led the way up the stairs, entering the hotel in front of the mathematician. Inside the lobby were two others, one a stocky man of Swedish descent and a lithe African-American woman. They rose when they saw Charlie, almost coming to attention as they did so. 'No need for formalities, guys.' He said, switching back to English. 'Has C.M. arrived yet?'

'No, Chief.' The other man said, shaking his head. 'We're supposed to meet him in the Sequoia Conference Room. It's been swept clean.'

'Good work, Chiron.' Charlie said, easily slipping back into his role as team leader, even though it had been almost four years since Team Mythos had been assembled. 'Let's get settled in, and we can fill each other in on what we've been doing for the past four years.'

'Sounds like a plan.' Phoenix said, white teeth flashing in a grin that contrasted with her dark colouring. Chiron led the way, and they were soon settled in the small Sequoia Conference Room, the door shut firmly behind them. A small silver disc was mounted at each corner of said entrance, and Charlie nodded at them. 'Sound field?' he asked, sitting down at the table.

'Yes, sir.' Phoenix replied, confirming his suspicions. 'Should render all speech intelligible to any listening device, be it hidden or not, within a 200 foot radius.'

'Excellent. And now for the waiting.'

**A/N (2): **_Yes, I know there are a plethora of "Secret Agent Charlie" stories out there, but I figured I might as well join in and have some fun with it. Meh. So sue me. By the way, Charlie's code name is "Griffin".  
_


	2. Revelations in Los Angeles

**A/N: **_Here's chapter two. Enjoy, and no fair in running the code through a decrypter online._

After around a half hour, the door to the Sequoia Room opened and admitted a slightly-built man with thinning red hair and a smart suit. All four members of Team Mythos rose, the susurrus of chairs against carpet filling the air. 'Sit down, people.' The newcomer said, following his own orders and taking a seat at the head of the table. 'We've got a serious problem. Over the past three weeks, five consultants on five different Reserve Teams have been murdered in California, starting from Mount Shasta and working south, ending here in LA. At each crime scene, there have been extremely complex ciphers and diagrams that even our available Active Teams haven't been able to decrypt fully. This is why I reassembled Mythos.'

'Do we have any suspects?' Sabina asked, looking startled at the revelations their Section Commander was telling them.

'Not as of yet. As much as the NSA would've liked to keep this an internal investigation, one of the murders here in LA was a computer programming consultant whose main job was a FBI lab tech, which means that the LA field office got jurisdiction before we could.'

Charlie looked up, eyes widening. 'My brother-'

'We know, Griffin. That's also one of the reasons this team was specifically reactivated. Since you already have a good connection with them, you'll be acting as a liaison for the two agencies. Your team will help you out. Now, you're due at the FBI offices tomorrow at eight AM. Here are the case files of the four other murders,' Mercury said, opening his briefcase and handing a manila file folder to each person around the table. 'Only their civilian names are given; it'd be of no use to either agency for their code names to be known, even though they've been retired from the records. When you are working with the Bureau, use only your civilian identities. We don't need to deal with any inter-agency problems right now.' He snapped shut his briefcase and stood, nodding sharply to his subordinates before turning and leaving the room.

Once he had left, Charlie sighed and closed his eyes, leaning back in his chair. He ran a hand over his face, trying to figure out the best way to tell Don that he had lied only to preserve national security. Snorting softly, he opened his eyes and stood up, stretching a bit.

'Let's get familiar with the cases.' He said to the others. 'I want to see what we're dealing with.'

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Don got into the office around eight-thirty the next day, ready and raring to get back to work on the FBI tech's case after his day off. He knew that Megan, Colby, and David were already there, though _where_ in the office, he couldn't be sure. His dilemma was solved when Megan stepped out of the conference room and flagged him down. 'Hey, Don. Charlie's already here.' She said, just as Don took a sip of the coffee he had brought with him.

He nearly did a spit-take at her words, eyes widening. 'Excuse me?' he sputtered, blinking rapidly. 'Charlie's _here_?'

'Yeah. Is he not supposed to be?' she asked, raising an eyebrow.

'He left last night for Oregon- or at least, that's what he told me. Why the hell is he here?'

'He's not alone. There are three other people with him, and they all consult for the NSA.' Megan informed him.

'What's the NSA got to do with this?' he asked, frowning.

They went into the conference room, where Charlie was deep in conversation with three other people who were total strangers to Don. Papers were spread out across the table, some covered with complex equations and others with diagrams of technology that Don couldn't even begin to make heads or tails of. One of the women talking with Charlie, a brunette with grey eyes and highly mobile hands, looked up as the two FBI agents came in. 'Hello.' She said, and Don recognised her voice as that of the woman who had called the house the previous day. 'You must be Charlie's brother; we spoke on the phone yesterday. I'm Doctor Krylová, and these are Doctors Leopold and Parker.'

'Nice to meet you. Hey, Charlie, can I talk to you for a minute?' Don asked. Charlie stopped in mid-sentence, meeting his brother's gaze with his own.

'Sure. Guys, I'll be right back.' Charlie turned briefly back to the small group, flashing a quick smile before turning to leave. Krylová stopped him with a hand on his arm and a few murmured words in Czech. Charlie shook his head, and then continued on his way out of the room.

'You understand Russian?' Don asked bemusedly. Charlie shrugged, slipping his hands into his jacket pockets.

'It's Czech, and I've picked up a few words over the years. Enough to understand when I need to. Listen, I can guess what you want to talk about. I couldn't tell you exactly what I was doing because I thought it was classified, so I told you the lie about having a conference in Oregon. I'm sorry, Don. This side of my life, the consulting for other agencies, and the classified nature of that work- it usually doesn't cross over into my work with you and the FBI.' Charlie said, leaning back with one foot resting on the wall behind him.

Don sighed and crossed his arms over his chest. 'Charlie, what does the NSA have to do with a murdered FBI tech?' he asked, jerking his head in the direction of the conference room.

'Go back in the room and I can tell you.' Charlie replied, straightening up. 'But what I _will _tell you now is that I've known these people for over four years, and trust their opinions and methodologies entirely. We're a team, and we work well together, just like you and your team do. We'll work with you, but you'll have to trust them like you do me.'

'I can't promise that, Charlie.'

'Just try, please.' Charlie turned and left, going back into the conference room. Don followed after him, and shut the door as he came entered the room. Colby and David were talking quietly with Megan in one corner, while Krylová, Leopold, and Parker had reabsorbed Charlie back into their conversation. Krylová was mainly speaking in English, with a few Czech words thrown in randomly. Leopold, who had a strong Minnesotan accent, was pointing out something to Charlie on a map, his finger describing a line through a specific area. Parker was scribbling something down on an interactive computer tablet, occasionally tapping a stylus against its side as she thought.

'Okay, anyone goin' to explain to me why the NSA is dealing with an FBI case?' Don asked suddenly, startling the four geeks out of their conversations and concentration. Leopold, Krylová, and Parker glanced at Charlie, who nodded once before clearing his throat and pulling up an image on the projector screen behind him. It was a map of California, plotted with five points running the length of the state.

'Over the past three weeks, five NSA consultants living in California have been murdered. Up until now, the NSA has kept the investigations limited to an internal level, occasionally working with the local PDs when necessary.' Charlie hit a button on his computer and the screen changed to display five photos, all of a type that one would see on an ID badge: smile-free, formal, and a plain blue background. Beneath each picture was a name and location of death.

'At least, it was internal until Doctor Murayama was killed three days ago in his apartment. Since you guys got jurisdiction first, it was decided that we would work on this case with you and share as much information as is needed to get whoever's behind this.' Charlie continued on. The four FBI agents were enraptured by his words, most of all Don. He'd never imagined that Charlie would have to deal with this sort of stuff in his other consulting jobs, or even that he'd get to meet with the people Charlie had worked with on said occasions. Charlie gestured at Krylová, who stood and took Charlie's place in front of the projector. She typed a few commands into the computer, and the display changed to a compilation of all of the different codes and diagrams that were also spread out on the table around which everyone was sitting.

'Okay. So, I should probably explain what each member of our team does, before we get started. Charlie, as you know, is a brilliant mathematician and our _de facto _leader for helping to organise our efforts. Doctor Alana Parker-' Parker waved and gave a small smile. 'Is our resident linguist. Doctor James Leopold is a mechanical engineer, and I am a cryptographer. So, now that you know our skills, we shall start putting them to use.'

She clicked on a specific image, which enlarged until it completely filled the screen. 'This is the set of codes that was found at the first crime scene in Mount Shasta. Now, some of our analysts have already tried going over this, but there has recently been an upswing in the amount of decryptions needed to be worked on, so it got shunted down to us. We all are civilians who occasionally consult for the NSA, so we have some free time on our schedules. Now, we think that this is a Playfair Cipher; unfortunately, we don't have the keyword to break it. It could be anything, and without it, we can only do so much.'

The code on the screen read thusly:

UG QS MY GM MY MN GH WH UL FB SL

BF FL MB HO EC EC YR NM HO GS FI

FQ VQ FQ IB FV BT CF HW HM EL UI

XT BY DH SL AL IU HW OP ME HY FK

BT EQ UQ SG BL IS YB SX NS QZ

'So, until you can figure out the password, all of those codes are basically useless, then?' Colby piped up.

'_Správne_, Agent Granger. However, we are running it through a program that uses brute force methods to try and decrypt the message. And that's assuming the keyword is in English. Thankfully, we have other options to pursue right now: namely, these intriguing diagrams of these devices.' Sabina replied, changing the screen once more. 'Before we speak about them, however, I suggest we take a small break and stretch our legs a bit. It won't do us any good to be cooped up in a room all day trying to work on something that may take more than what we're willing to give it at the moment.'

'Good plan. Meet back here in ten, people.' Don said, getting up from his chair. The others filed out, blinking as their eyes readjusted to the bright florescent lights outside the dark conference room.


	3. Goldberg Would Be Proud

**A/N(1) : **_Ahem. I realised I forgot the usual disclaimer. So, here goes: Nothing save for the plot and the OCs belong to me. Everything else belongs to its respective owner. Oh, and I apologise if I offend anyone with the Czech. I use an online translator, so I'm reliant on that being right, which probably means I'm screwed. Fun._

They reconvened in the conference room after a little over ten minutes, most carrying a paper cup of coffee and a snack grabbed from one of the nearby break rooms. Charlie and Sabina immediately checked on the progress of the program that was running through all possible English words and trying them as the codeword to decrypt the messages. It hadn't gotten very far; it was barely up to the middle of the "e" section of the dictionary. Shaking his head, Charlie plopped down in a chair, all of his associates save for Leopold following his example. The stocky Minnesotan smiled nervously at all of the attention focused on him, cleared his throat, and brought up a picture of one of the diagrams onto the projector screen.

'Right. Um, these diagrams aren't of any actual machine. However, if you look closely, you can see some very familiar elements in the plans that show exactly what _sort _of machines these are intended to be.' He focused on a specific portion of the diagram, the computer blowing it up and refining the image.

'What is that?' Colby asked, brow furrowing slightly.

'It looks like a bucket with a picture of a walrus on it.' David said, sounding bemused.

'That's because it is, Agent Sinclair. These are classic examples of a Rube Goldberg machine. They are overly complicated creations designed to do a simple task. I believe they were included to simply throw our concentration off the right path. However, there _is _one cohesive theme throughout all of the diagrams.'

He pulled up another portion of the diagram, which sported an image in stark black and white. It was that of a multi-headed beast; all of the mouths were agape and snarling, baring needle-sharp teeth. The rest of Mythos team sat up straighter, eyes widening in surprise.

'_Kurva drát_! ' Sabina swore sharply, bringing her flat palm down hard against the table. '_To je nemožné! On je mrtvý! Jak je to možné? Charlie? Myslela jsem, že jsme ho pochovali před pěti lety!'_

'Sabina, please calm down!' Parker said, placing a calming hand on her friend's shoulder.

'What's going on?' Megan asked, startled at the normally calm Czech's outburst.

'That symbol, there on the screen,' Charlie said, schooling his face into something a little less surprised. 'Is a representation of what is known as a hydra- a many-headed beast of Grecian legend that was almost impossible to kill. We used to work with a man some time ago who went by that nickname. He was a brilliant cryptographer. Unfortunately, he was killed in a car crash five years ago. It's just startling to see his personal symbol once again, especially after all these years.'

'He had a personal symbol?' Colby asked, frowning.

'It was sort of a joke between us.' James said. 'We each picked a mythical creature and used them as identifying symbols for our work. Hydra's real name was Michael Rossetti. I was Chiron.'

'The many eyed watcher.' Megan said, earning a bright smile and a nod from James.

'Yes, and I was Phoenix, Sabina was Sphinx, and Charlie, Griffin.' Parker told them.

'Couldn't someone have put that there to make you think it was Hydra back from the dead?' Don asked, leaning back in his chair. 'What sort of funeral did he have?'

'Closed casket.' Sabina managed, her breathing slowly returning to normal. 'His body was too badly burned to have an open casket ceremony. It was what his family wanted.'

'Makes sense.' Colby said, nodding. 'Considering what state his body was probably in, I'd want a closed casket if it was me.'

'Most of us would, Agent Granger.' James said, shaking his head. 'As to the rest of the diagrams, I did find one word that sent up a red flag. It was put in various places, nearly hidden to the casual viewer, but obvious to someone who looked for discrepancies in the texts.'

The image on the screen changed once more, this time displaying a single six-letter word in various screenshots from all of the diagrams. It was always in uppercase letters, though the fonts differed.

' "Mythos"? ' Megan asked, blinking. 'What does that mean?'

'It was the name of our group.' Charlie replied softly. 'The only problem is, that's classified information. No one outside the NSA should know about it.'

'Which means that you may have someone from the NSA targeting consultants. But it doesn't make sense. Why would they want to kill off people working for them?' David said, frowning deeply.

'I don't know. But I want to try something.' Charlie turned to the computer that was running the decryption program and typed in a few commands, tapping his fingers against the table as the computer processed his request. After a few moments, he made a small sound of grim satisfaction underneath his breath, and turned back to the rest of the room.

'The answer to the Playfair cipher was staring us in the face all along.' He told them. 'The keyword was "Mythos", and here's the deciphered message. It's been cleaned up a little to provide coherence.'

The decrypted message ran as follows:

**Welcome to my little game agents/ this is only the beginning /Cant wait to see what comes next/ trust me it will be spectacular**

"And that's only the first message. I want to look at the latest message we've been given to see what our killer's next move may be.' Don said, and Charlie nodded, calling up the code and putting it through the program.

GH AL FS QK PF HO IU FL KD GY

MI FB SL BF FL MB YC AL HG BG

IU FL EV PQ NS HF PF OM UT FV

TY DZ LE OM MU CZ CK FG DZ YR

LS FV CE FP DZ FV SI KD TM WM

CQ RF UG QU UE IU FK VF UG UI

GZ YR BT FI HZ DK UM DI GK RA

FQ ET AV IU HW YB PK GM XT DR

RY UB GH YS TA KM LF YK TM VZ

The code, which had read as above, was transformed into coherence by Charlie's program. Once it had been decrypted, the agents and consultants stared at the screen in horror.

**Its nearing the end of the game agents/ hasnt it been fun playing/ how many more should die for one mans ignorance do you think /well see in a week wont we/ good luck finding my next target /who knows it may be one of you**

'What does he mean, "One man's ignorance"? Who's he talking about?' Colby inquired, looking at the various members of Mythos Team. Charlie and Sabina shared what looked to be a knowing glance, though James and Parker shook their heads in ignorance.

'Before James and Alana joined Mythos, it was just Charlie, Michael, myself, and another mathematician by the name of Werner Rittell. Werner didn't exactly get along with our Section Chief at the time; they were constantly arguing until Chief Ruiz had Werner transferred to a different Section in Arizona. I don't think he ever forgave Chief for that, but we haven't heard from him since, save for a series of letters he wrote to Ruiz, saying how he had ruined his life and was ignorant of Werner's true brilliance. The last I heard, Werner had his security clearance revoked and was living in Flagstaff. That was three years ago; I don't know where he is now.' Sabina explained, running a hand through her hair. The four FBI agents looked between themselves and then Don spoke.

'Let's get a residence check on this guy,' he decided, glancing at Colby, who nodded and got up, leaving the room. 'I want to know where he is and what he's doing. If he's anywhere in our jurisdiction, I want him picked up and held for questioning.' He turned to Charlie and Sabina as David and Megan got up and left as well. 'Does he have any family or friends in LA?'

'Not that I know of, Don.' Charlie replied, shaking his head. 'Werner was even worse with women than I am. He couldn't hold onto a girlfriend for more than a few weeks, and he was a foster kid from New York, so as far as I know, no relatives, either.'

'Good. That means he'll hopefully have less leverage if the situation gets desperate. How are you and Amita doing, anyways?'

Charlie grinned, and Don could've sworn he blushed slightly. 'We're good.' He checked his watch, and then looked back up. 'We're going to dinner tonight at seven; I'm hoping it'll be okay.'

'_You'll have to tell us all about it, my friend._' Sabina said in Czech, giving Charlie a big grin. '_Besides, we could use the levity in a time like this. And we all know of your track record with women, so it would be nice to hear about one of your successes.' _

'What'd she say?' Don asked as Charlie's blush deepened. It was interesting; he never knew his brother could turn that delicate of a shade of pink.

'Nothing. Just wants to know how my date with Amita goes. That's all.' Charlie said, coughing slightly.

'Yes, that is all.' Sabina said, though a wicked grin curved her lips. James and Alana laughed, and Don thought it was good to see them joking around with each other, even with a crazed yet brilliant murderer out there somewhere.

**A/N(2): **_So the last few paragraphs are for godessa39, who requested some Charlie/Amita. Knowing me and my plot bunnies (who seemed to have escaped the attentions of the APBA), the date could either go wonderfully or it could get interrupted in the middle. It depends on how much drama you want in the next chapter. Tell me in your reviews, and I'll see how it goes over with my Muse and the bunnies. As for a translation of what Sabina says when she sees Hydra's symbol, it runs something like this: "Bloody hell! This is impossible! He's dead! How is it possible? Charlie? I thought we buried him five years ago!". Yeah, that's basically it. Um, once again, sorry if I offend anyone. And bonus points for anyone who knows what the significance of the bucket and its associated picture is.Yeah, I'm a geek. So sue me._


	4. Catching Up With a Killer

**A/N (1): **_Hah. My Numb3rs Muse has finally returned from her vacation, and boy, is she productive. __Thanks to Terrania for helping correct the Czech last chapter. --Sends Virtual cookies and lemonade.--_

--Time: 7:45 PM, the same day--

Charlie and Amita sat at a table in Literati II, eating the fresh food prepared by Chef Chris Kidder, and generally enjoying themselves. The restaurant was literary themed, with portraits of authors and hardcover books ingrained right into the structure. It was relatively close to the FBI building; both were on Wiltshire Boulevard in LA. Amita had ordered the Spaghetti & Grilled Shrimp, while Charlie had the Penne. Charlie relished the time that he got to spend with Amita, away from the stresses of the FBI and the problem of Doctor Werner Rittell. His phone _was _in his jacket pocket, just in case, though he had turned it down to vibrate so he wouldn't ruin the dining experience for others in the restaurant.

Amita was talking animatedly about an experience she had had one summer when she was young, her hands gesturing in front of her. Charlie smiled at her exuberance, amusement sparkling in his eyes. 'What are you smiling about?' Amita asked, pausing in her story.

'Nothing. Please, continue.' Charlie replied, shaking his head slightly. She did so, looking at him oddly for a moment before beginning once more. Her story went on for a good five minutes or so after, making him laugh at least three times in that span of time. He barely touched his penne, he was that engrossed. With the timing of a car alarm at midnight, Charlie's jacket began vibrating against his chair, creating a very odd feeling up and down the mathematician's back.

'Hold that thought.' He said to Amita, turning around in his chair and digging his phone out of his jacket, which hung the back of the chair. He pulled it out and checked the caller ID. It was Sabina, so he excused himself from the table and then answered it as he walked away, attempting to find a quiet spot in which to listen.

'Yes?'

'_Charlie, they found him. They found Werner. He was out in Granada Hills._'

'What? How'd they find him?'

'_By his fingerprints, of all things. By using our clearance, we were able to access his files and found his prints on a work card. He's working for a computer securities firm based in the San Gabriel Valley. They picked him up and brought him to the FBI offices about forty-five minutes ago. I thought you might want to know.'_

'Thanks for calling, Sabina. Luckily, Amita and I are almost done with our dinner.' Charlie said, running his free hand through his hair. 'We'll meet you there.'

'_Once this is all over, you'll have to tell me how your dinner went. And don't think you'll be able to squirm out of it, either. See you soon, Charlie.' _Sabina replied, a teasing lilt in her voice.

'Bye.' Charlie hung up the phone and returned to Amita, who looked interested to know what the call had been about. 'That was the FBI. There was a breakthrough on the case we're working on.'

'That's good. Do you need to go in?' Amita asked setting down her water glass.

'Yeah. Sorry about having to skip on dessert. Maybe we can-' Charlie began to say, but Amita waved his comment off.

'Let's just pay, and then go. I need to get some work done, anyways.' She said, getting up from her seat. 'Come on.'

--

Charlie got to the FBI office about fifteen minutes later, Colby meeting him just as they entered the bullpen. 'Hey, Charlie. Glad you could make it. They've got him in Interrogation Room One.' He shook his head. 'That guy hasn't answered a single question straight except for his name. I don't know how you worked with him, Charlie. Where's Amita?'

'She had to go home and work on some things.' Charlie answered. 'We drove separate cars, so it worked out, I guess.' He walked with Colby to the observation room that monitored the two Interrogation Rooms, and found that Sabina, James, and Alana were there already, with David sitting at the chair in front of the window-counter. James turned his head when they came in, giving Charlie a grim smile and a terse nod when he saw him.

'It's him.' Was all he said before turning back to the window. Charlie followed his gaze, dark brown eyes narrowing slightly as he saw Rittell. Colby watched him move forwards to stand next to Sabina and David, and wondered at the effect one man could have on another, even when they had been out of contact for years. Charlie's whole demeanour had closed up, his body becoming tense. Sabina laid a hand on his shoulder, but Charlie ignored it as he watched Rittell through the one-way glass.

Rittell sat facing the window, his 6'1" frame slouched insolently in the chair. His sun-streaked dusty brown hair was worn short, though it was a few inches shy of a crew cut. Slightly tinted glasses covered his pale blue eyes, and he kept stretching his left leg underneath the table as Don and Megan questioned him about the five murders that had happened over the past few weeks. He stoutly refused to talk about them, only bothering to speak once.

'Look, this farce of an arrest is totally wrongful and I won't cooperate with you if you don't have any concrete evidence linking me to these..._acts_ of violence.' He said, his voice lightly accented with the tones of Germany, tempered by his stay in the Southwest US. 'You are wasting both my time and yours. I know my rights as a citizen of the United States; I am free to leave at any time, so I shall do so.'

Before Rittell could get up, the door to the Interrogation Room opened and admitted Commander Quentin "Mercury" Edmonton, dressed in a sharp suit with a dark blue tie and his ever present sleek black briefcase.

'You can't come in here, sir.' Megan said, startled. 'We're in the middle of an-'

'I know, Agent Reeves. I am intimately aware of the situation considering Doctor Rittell. Allow me to introduce myself. I am Quentin Edmonton, with the NSA. I took over as head for the Mythos project after Section Chief Ruiz transferred to a different area of the country. I am the liaison for the NSA in this matter.' He replied, a vague smile flickering across his face before he turned to Werner. 'It's been a while, Werner. I trust you are doing well?'

'What the hell are you doing here, you incompetent idiot?' Rittell snarled, his demeanour changing from insolent to enraged in a split-second.

'There's no need for name calling, now. I merely wanted to see how you were-'

'Just peachy. Now get the fuck out of here.'

Mercury raised an eyebrow briefly, before sitting down in the chair across the table from Rittell and snapping open his briefcase. After a few moments of looking through the papers within, he looked up, his green eyes betraying nothing. 'Very well. Doctor Werner Rittell, you have been charged with the murders of the following five people: Doctor Teresa Knapp, Doctor Evan Merriam, Doctor Ryan Carter, Doctor Jessica Grove, and Doctor Taisei Murayama. Your fingerprints were found at all five crime scenes, linking you implicitly to the killings. A sample of DNA was found at the last scene as well, linking you even further. What do you have to say to this evidence?'

Rittell was quiet, staring malevolently at the older man, his shoulders tight. Mercury waited patiently, his hands folded neatly on the table in front of him. A good ten minutes later, he sighed and began sifting through his papers once more. 'I wonder,' he said almost absently. 'How you will fare in maximum security prison. I don't know about you, but I'd almost prefer to be wrecked on a desert island than deal with the violence and psychological trauma that so often occurs during incarceration, especially with hardened career criminals. Do you think they will go easy on you? Mm. Perhaps you will find work as someone's bed warmer. They may even-'

'Shut. Up.' Rittell ground out, though he was looking rather pale by this time. 'Just shut the hell up.'

'Why? You do realize this is what will probably happen to you, unless...'

'Unless what?'

Mercury looked up from his papers, his eyes sharply focused on Rittell. 'Unless you confess to the murders and sign the agreement I have here.' He tapped the papers in front of him. 'They won't save you from incarceration, but it's a hell of a lot better than maximum security- or the death penalty.'

'What are you talking about?' Don asked, startled. 'He's murdered five people. What sort of deal is this?'

'One where he will be watched every moment of every day, for the rest of his life.' Mercury replied smoothly. 'He'll essentially be jailed within the confines of a highly secure classified location. It had better security than any maximum security prison that I know of. The catch is, he'll be there alone. It's solitary confinement, with a little more room to move around in. I can assure you, Agent Eppes, that he _will _be punished for his crimes; it will merely not be under your jurisdiction.'

'That's bull.'

'That's life, Agent. It's also been cleared through all the appropriate channels, including the Directors of the FBI, the CIA, Homeland Security, _and _the President himself. Of course, all of this is up to Doctor Rittell here.' Mercury said, nodding to the bespectacled mathematician. 'It's your choice, Werner. Maximum Security or our deal. Which do you choose?'

Rittell was silent for a few minutes, his bravado and anger now gone, to be replaced by a quiet thoughtfulness. 'Fine. I'll go with you. Don't expect me to be little Mr. Happy about, though.'

Mercury slid the papers across the table, along with a pen. 'I wouldn't dream of it, Doctor. Just sign these, please.'

Rittell did so, and once he was finished, Mercury collected the papers, put them in his briefcase, and then stood. 'Thank you for your cooperation, Agents. I assure you, you won't regret this.'

'We'll see.' Don replied tersely. 'I take it you have escorts for him?'

'Oh, yes, I do.' He crossed to the door, opened it, and then beckoned at someone outside. Two well-built men in well-tailored suits came in, one bearing a set of handcuffs. He motioned for Rittell to stand, and then snapped the cuffs on his wrists, securing his hands behind his back. Rittell made to lunge at Mercury as he passed him leaving the room, but Mercury stepped aside, put a hand on Rittell's shoulder, and then pushed him into the wall, leaning his weight against the younger man. 'Please. Just because I'm wearing a suit doesn't mean I can't still take you down. Play nice, now.' Mercury let him go, and the two guards took a better hold on the murderer. They escorted him out of the bullpen and into the elevator. Mythos team and the FBI agents watched them go, Mercury stepping into the elevator just before the doors closed.

'It's over.' Sabina said, leaning exhaustedly against the wall of the observation room. 'It's really over.'

'Yep.' Alana agreed, and James slung an arm around her shoulders as tears began to slip down her face. She brushed them away absently with one hand, taking a deep breath to compose herself.

'Go to bed, guys. We'll meet in the morning to celebrate.' Charlie said, startling Colby and David. 'We've all been up way too long.' He hugged Alana and Sabina, and then, surprisingly, James as well. They returned his gesture, Alana hiccupping slightly as she did so. Charlie left after waving goodbye to Colby and David, looking more relaxed than he had over the course of the past few days.

--

The next morning dawned bright and sunny once more, mirroring Charlie's elevated mood. He clattered down the stairs, fully ready to go meet his team for breakfast at Grinder's on 28th Street in Los Angeles. The restaurant was a local favourite, and Charlie often liked to go there on the weekends with Larry and Amita. 'Charlie, where are you off to in such a hurry?' Alan asked from his seat in the living room, where he was watching the news. Charlie stopped in the middle of picking up his keys from the table near the door, and then turned to face his father.

'I'm just going out to breakfast, dad.' He answered, checking to see if he had his wallet. Don came out of the kitchen, a piece of toast in one hand and a glass of water in the other.

'Morning, Charlie.' He said, plopping down on the couch.

'Hi, Don.' Charlie said. 'Sleep well?'

'Yep. You?'

'Better than I have in a while.'

'I take it the case went well?' Alan inquired, turning the TV down. Charlie and Don looked at one another, and then Don nodded, taking a bite of his toast.

'Yeah.' He said after swallowing. 'We caught the murderer, and he's in custody.'

'Good. Where are you going to breakfast, Charlie?' Alan said, turning back to his youngest son.

'Grinder's. And I've really got to run, so I'll see you guys later. Bye!' With that, Charlie left, shutting the door behind him.

--

Charlie arrived at Grinder's to find his team already there, sitting at a table for four. He joined them, flagging down a waitress and putting in his order for a California omelette with wheat toast and coffee. The team talked for a moment about anything and everything, until they eventually came around to the subject of Charlie's date with Amita the previous night.

'Well, how did it go, Charlie?' Sabina asked after taking a drink of her coffee. James took advantage of her distraction to snag a piece of her bacon, and she absentmindedly swatted at him with her free hand.

'It was fine. We went to Literati II, and had a good time. It was a lot better than some of our first dates, let me tell you.' Charlie replied, smiling slightly.

'Ooo, tell us more, tell us more.' Alana squeaked, bouncing in her seat.

'Quoting _Grease _now, 'Lana?' James asked, grinning. Alana thwapped him on the back of the head, a mock scowl on her face.

'Hush, and let Charlie talk, ya big goofball.' She told him, sitting back in her chair. Charlie and Sabina laughed, Sabina covering a smile with one hand.

'Alright, what do you want to know?' Charlie asked, looking around at his teammates and friends.

'Everything.'

'Well, it all began when Amita approached me as her thesis advisor...'

**A/N (2): **_Ha, I'm finally finished. Sorry it took so long, but my muse ran off to Tijuana and didn't come back until a few days ago. Darn little literary tart. Hmmph. Anyways, thanks for reading my first foray into a purely Numb3rs 'fic, and for all the reviews as well. See ya on the flip side! This is 'Sky, signing out._


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